By Devendra Kumar Budakoti
Lansdowne is a small hill station in District Garhwal of Uttarakhand. The town came up during the British period, due to the formation of Garhwal Rifles, an Infantry Regiment of the Indian Army. For the past few decades, it has become a popular tourist destination, particularly for the weekend holiday makers. Better road connectivity from Delhi-NCR has made it accessible within five to six hours of driving. It’s popular throughout the year and working individuals drive in on Friday evening and rush back early morning on Monday, to reach office on time. Lansdowne is a cantonment town and its rules have not allowed any new construction of houses or hotels. This led the businessmen to buy land and construct hotels outside the periphery of the cantonment jurisdiction.
Lansdowne is my hometown and whenever I accompany any friends or colleagues to my hometown, the first question asked is, how did the town get its name. Most of them have not read much about the British period in India. Many might have heard some of the known names like Hastings, Wellesley, Cornwallis, Dalhousie, Minto and Mountbatten, but may not have heard the name of Lord Lansdowne. So, I inform you that Lord Henry Charles Keith Petty-Fitzmaurice, 5th Marques of Lansdowne, was Viceroy of India in the year 1888 to 1894, and that the town was established in his period and hence the name.
The next obvious question is, what was its earlier name and how did the town come up. I continue to answer the anticipated question, that the Garhwal Rifles was raised in 1887 at Almora in Kumaon hills and moved in the same year to Kaludanda, the earlier name of the town. Without asking I state that the name Kaludanda comes from the Garhwali dialect, where Kalu means black and Danda means forest. It is said that the area was always cloudy and dark and hence the name given by the locals. It was only in September 1890, that Kaludanda was renamed Lansdowne. The Garhwal Regiment came up due to the recommendations of Field Marshal Sir FS Roberts, the then Commander in Chief in India. The town’s first map can be seen in the Garhwal Rifles Museum and one can see the name Kaludanda written on the blueprint. I remind my friends about the role played by Subedar Bal Bhadra Singh who as an ADC to the Field Marshal persuaded him to recommend the raising of a separate Regiment of the Garhwalis.
The many roads of Lansdowne are named after people who have played a historical role in the country or for the town. Individuals like Griffith, Wheatle, Kitchner, Mainwaring, Channer, Cassgrain, Ramsay and Hutchison have roads in their names, and all played a historical role for the Indian Army and civil administration. There is a Mainwaring Road and garden by this name and that comes from Colonel EP Mainwaring, who raised the first battalion and laid the foundation of the Garhwal Rifles Regiment. It is said that Colonel Mainwaring was directly related to Lord Lansdowne and he may have played a role in changing the name of Kaludanda to Lansdowne!
Henry Ramsay was first Assistant Commissioner and later Commissioner for British Garhwal and Kumaon for 28 years. Ramsay had a big role to play in the administration and development of the hill districts. Similarly, the many army barrack lines have names which also reflect history. The Evatt Lines comes from JT Evatt, who was one of the first officers of the regiment when it was raised in 1887. He also later raised the second battalion in 1901. Similarly, Kitchner Lines, after the well-known Commander-in-Chief in British times. There is also a Queens Line after Queen Victoria. There is a Bazaar named 2/3 (second third) Bazaar in Lansdowne and the name comes from the second battalion of the third Gorkha regiment, as the Garhwal battalion was raised from this regiment. The place where the market came up for these troops became the 2/3 bazaar.
There is so much history that the town has in store that a whole book can be written in the process. The town has a history of British India and any inquisitive person visiting the town will learn history by default.
(The author is a sociologist and an alumnus of Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi. His research work is quoted in books of Nobel laureate Prof Amartya Sen)
